1. This story provides a good example of how sting operations are an effective weapon against domestic terrorism--of any stripe. Most would-be violent extremists in the US can be

"Georgia man pleads guilty to plotting rocket attack on White House" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/02/hasher-jallal-taheb-white-house-rocket-attack?CMP=share_btn_tw

2. characterized as "High intent, low capability," meaning that they have a strong desire to attack, but may lack the resources (money, training, equipment, weaponry, knowhow, etc.) to actually carry out their dream attack of choice. That renders them vulnerable to sting

3. operations, where an undercover officer purports to offer them what they lack. "You want to blow up a bridge, you say? But you don't have any explosives? Well, I know a guy who knows a guy..." They will often embrace the apparent opportunity, agree to accept the [whatever]

4. and then be arrested, often in the act of doing something like pressing a [fake] detonator. Some people criticize sting operations on the basis that, sans intervention by police, the extremist in question would likely not have been able to carry out their original, perhaps

5. unrealistic plan. And that may well be true, but it misses the point, because someone with high intent, upon realizing they may not be able to accomplish a grandiose plan, can still resort to a simple but easy and deadly plan--like picking up a gun for a shooting spree. Some

6. critics too claim that sting operations are entrapment, but done right, they are miles away from entrapment (which requires someone pressuring the person to do something he/she doesn't want to do). There have been cases of entrapment in sting operations (Randy Weaver of "Ruby

7. Ridge" infamy is actually an example of someone who was entrapped), but they are actually quite rare. Sting operations have been used successfully to prevent violence by right-wing extremists, left-wing extremists, and domestic Islamist extremists.